Boring type mining machine having chain cutter cusp removing means



GONSKI BORING TYPE MINING MACHINE HAVING CHAIN CUTTER CUSP REMOVING MEANS Filed April 12. 1956 Aug. 13, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 H wE INVENTOR. Joseph Gonski BY i- Ii.

TTORNEY Aug. 13, 1957 J GONSKI 2,8 2,6 4 BORING TYPE MINING MACHINE HAVING CHAIN CUTTER CUSP REMOVING MEANS Filed April 12, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Joseph Gonski ATZORNEV Aug. 13, 1957 I J. GONSKI 2, 6 4

BORING TYPE MINING MACHINE HAVING CHAIN CUTTER CUSP REMOVING MEANS Filed April 12, 1956 3 She ets-Sheet s .IED

BORING TYPE MDJTNG MACHINE HAVING CHAEN CUTTER CUSP REMGVING MEANS Joseph Gonski, Chicago,-1ll.,-assignorto Goodman Manufactoring Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois a V,

Application April 12, 1956, Serial No. 577,688 7 7 Claims. (Cl; 262 -7) A major difiiculty with the above-mentioned type of machine is that the lower cutter chain which trims the upstanding cusps at the floor level is usually arranged to convey its cuttings laterally to a point beyond the reach of the usual gathering and conveying means, so that a windrow of cuttings is left along one wall of the workingplace without ready meansof clearance, and in position to interfere with the free operation of the cutter chain.

The principal object of the-present invention is to pro vide an improved arrangement of cutter chains so that the cuttings carried along the floor by the cutter chain will be deposited at a place short of the far side of the machine,

where the gathering means can readily reach and feed the cuttings into a conveyor.

The invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front end view of a multiple head boring type mining machine having two boring heads, and showing a cutter chain arranged in accordance with the'invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of a multiple head boringtype miner to which the present invention is applied;

Figure 2a is a fragmentary, schematic front view'of a variant form of mining machine generally similar to that shown in Figure 1, but with 'a different arrangement of cutter chain, together with an auxiliary rotary cutter at the right side of the machine; and

Figure 3 is a front end view of a variant form of boring type mining machine having four boring heads, and having two cutter chains arranged in accordance with the invention. 7

Referring now particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, a mining machine is indicated generally'by the reference numeral 16. The machine is generally of a well known type which cuts a pair of overlapping contiguous bores in a seam of coal or the like, and includes a main frame 11 mounted on crawler treads 12, which propel the machine along a mine floor. An auxiliary frame 13 is mounted as usual at the front of the main frame 11 and is arranged to be vertically adjusted by pistons 14 of lifting cylinders 16 which are formed as part of a gear case 17. The auxiliary frame 13 may also be tilted fore and aft by cylinders 18. The vertical and fore-andaft adjusting mechanism is similar to that disclosed in Patent No. 2,757,917, so need not be more fully described herein, as it forms no part of the present invention.

The gear case 17 has two forwardly extending laterally at t ice

2 spaced shafts '19-journaled therein, which=shafts support boring-heads 20, each consisting'of a plurality of radially extending-boringarms'21 which are arranged to rotate] in timed relationship in a manner well known in the art.- Each arm 21 has a plurality of forwardly projecting cutter elements 22 mounted thereon.

The main frame 11 base. centrally disposedconve'yor 44 with a throat or inbye portion 46 extending beneath the gear housing 17 and between a pair of spaced deflector plates 48,'one of which is-not seen in Figure 1. The conveyor 44 is arranged to-be raised'and lowered about a horizontal axis "HA by means of lifting cylinder 49. The conveyor 44 also-includes a discharge'boom section 51 at the rear end of theframe 11,which boom is swingable about a vertical axis VA by swing cylinders 52. The moving part of the conveyor is of the endless chain and flight type, and may be trained as usual around a drive sprocket 54 driven by a hydraulic motor 53 mounted on the discharge boom'51.

The cutting action of the boring arms 21 normally leaves upstanding and depending cusps or cores from the floor and roof; respectively, which are removed by an endless cutter chain 24. In the form shown in Figure 1, a single cutter chain is trained along-an upper guide bar 26 and a lower guidebar 27 The upper guide bar 26 is mounted for vertical adjustment by a piston 28 acting in a cylinder 31on gear case 17. The lower guide bar 27 is mounted for vertical adjustment in a similar fashion.

The cutter chain 24 is guided around idler sprockets 36 and 37 locatedat opposite ends of the upper guide bar 26. From sprockets37 the chain istrained around a take-up sprocket'32, mounted as usual for transverse movement on gear box 17, thence around thehub of shaft 19 on suitable'guide shoes (not shown) around a corner sprocket 41 at the lefthand endof the lower guide bar 27. This corner sprocket is disposed well beyond the adjacent arc of cutting limit X of the nearest, or left-t hand boring head 20, as shown in Figure 1.

The lower reach of cutter chain 24 travels along the; lower guide bar 27 from sprocket 41 to and around a. sprocket 42 at the righthand end of the lower guide bar, which, in this instance, is disposed short of the extreme right side of the machine, and within the'arcuate cutting limit of the nearest, or righthand boring head 20 indicated by line Y in- Figure 1. There the chain abruptly changes [direction around sprocket 42, and goes upwardly and inwardly to a drive sprocket 33L From drive sprocket 33, the chain 24 is deflected under the hub of the righthand boring head by a suitable guide shoe (not shown) and is trained around a corner sprocket 43, at the extreme right side adjacent the floor, from which it travels upwardly to sprocket 36 at the adjacent end of the upper chain guide 26.

The abrupt direction change of chain 24 around sprocket 42 at the outbye end of the lower reach of said chain propels the cuttings carried by said chain into a generally upright abutment means, herein consisting of a deflector plate 38 fixed on and projecting from the auxiliary frame 13, so as to crowd the cuttings-forwardly into the area swept by the arms 21 of the righthand cutter head 20. Each of said arms has mounted thereon a scoop 23 of conventionalform', which sweeps the deposited cuttings toward the conveyor throat 46 as the righthand head rotates in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figure 1.

In the variant form' of machine shown in Figure 2a, the general arrangement of twin boring heads, conveyor throat and upper and lower guide bars is the same as that shown and described in connection with the form of Figure l, but'instead of extending the cutter chain 24 downwardly to pass around an idler sprocket 43 at the lower right corner of the machine as seen in Figure 1, the cutter chain passes around drive sprocket 33 and a tensioning roller 35 directly to the idler sprocket 36 at the right end of the upper guide bar 26. In lieu of the idler sprocket 43, a cutter wheel 43' is located at the lower right corner of the gear case 17. This cutter wheel 43' is provided with a plurality of radially and forwardly projecting cutter bits 43" so as to produce substantially the same cutting pattern beyond the arc of movement Y of cutter head 20 as that produced by the cutter chain of Figure 1 as the latter passes around the idler sprocket 43. The cutter wheel 43 of Figure 2a may be driven by any suitable means. As shown herein, said drive means comprises a chain 56 passing over a sprocket 57 driven through shaft 57a by the cutter chain idler sprocket 42, and also extending around a sprocket 58 which in turn drives the cutter wheel 43' through a shaft 58a.

Referring now to Figure 3, a variant form of boring type mining machine is indicated generally by the numeral 60, which has a gear case 67 having four boring heads 62, 63, 64 and 66 rotatably mounted thereon. Each head has a plurality of arms 71 projecting radially therefrom with cutter elements 72 and scoops 73 mounted in cutting and sweeping relation to the bores. Beneath gear box 67 and behind heads 62, 63, 64 and 66 are mounted conveyors 56 and 57 having throats 58 and 59 at their front ends. The throat 58 opens between heads 62 and 63, while the throat 59 opens between heads 64 and 66. The two conveyors 56 and 57 may be extended rearwardly of the frame in any suitable manner, as for instance, they may discharge upon a single centrally disposed conveyor (not shown) as disclosed in the copending application Serial No. 567,547, but details thereof need not be shown or described herein, as it forms no part of the present invention.

It will be understood that a machine having four aligned boring heads will leave three upstanding and three depending cusps at the floor and roof respectively. In the form of machine shown in Figure 3, these cusps are trimmed off by two endless cutter chains 74 and 75 running in upper and lower guide bars 76 and 77. The upper guide bar 76 has an intermediate portion of the guide flange cut away at 76' to permit entry and exit of the chains 74 and 75 intermediate the ends of said guide bar. The entire upper guide bar 76 is mounted for vertical movement on gear case 67 by pistons and cylinders 78 and 81. The lower guide bar 77 is similarly constructed, with an intermediate cut-away portion 77 Cutter chain 74 travels along the floor in lower guide bar 77 from behind head 62 to head 63, there abruptly changing direction around a sprocket 87 at the left side of the cut-away portion 77', and going to a drive sprocket 83 driven by projecting shaft 84 near the center of the gear case 67. From drive sprocket 83 the chain 74 travels around sprocket 86 immediately adjacent the cut away portion 76 of the upper guide bar 76. It is then guided toward the left along the upper guide bar to an end sprocket similar to sprocket 86 (but hidden from view by arm 71 of head 62), and travels beneath a tensioning sprocket 82 to and around corner sprocket 87 where it reenters the left end of the lower guide bar 77. Chain 74 is thus arranged to trim off any upper and lower cusps left between the heads 62 and 63, and to deposit the cuttings from the lower cusp within the area immediately to the rear of the lowest point of the arc swept out by the scoops 73 on head 63. From this area the scoops 73 urge the cuttings into the adjacent throat 58 of conveyor 56.

Cutter chain 75 moves orbitally in counter direction to chain 74 for trimming off the upper and lower cusps left between the heads 63 and 64, and also between the two cusps left between heads 64 and 66. Chain 75 moves in lower guide bar 77 in a direction from behind head 66 to behind head 63, then abruptly changing direction about a sprocket 93 at the right of the cut-away portion'77', and thence going to a drive sprocket 83, similar to drive sprocket 83 previously described. From thence the chain goes around a sprocket 92 at the right of the cut-away 4 portion 76' of the upper guide bar 76, and thence travels along said bar to an end sprocket 92'. From thence the chain passes over a tensioning sprocket 82 to an end sprocket 93 on the lower guide bar 77 from which it enters said lower guide bar.

The coaction of cutting chains 74 and is such that cuttings from said chains are moved along the floor in opposite directions to an area to the rear of the lowest point of the arc swept by scoops 73 of head 63, in which area the cuttings are deposited in position to be urged into the throat 58 of conveyor 56 by scoops 73.

The operation of the improved cutter chain arrangement is briefly as follows: In a twin' boring head type of mining machine such as shown in Figure 1, a cusp left standing from the floor between the two heads is cut off by the lower reach of the cutter chain 24. In addition to cutting, the action of the chain is such that the cuttings are carried along in the direction of chain travel, to be deposited at the point where the chain abruptly changes direction around sprocket 42. The chain arrangement shown in Figure 1 is such that the major proportion of cuttings moving with the lower reach of the cutter chain will be deposited against deflector 38 so that the cuttings will pile up and be deflected forwardly where the scoops 23 will engage and convey these cuttings into the conveyor throat 46.

'In a substantially similar fashion, the four-head type of machine in Figure 3 has two chains traveling toward each other along their lower reaches. The lefthand chain 74 cuts off the upper and lower cusps between heads 62 and 63 and deposits the cuttings on the mine floor immediately to the rear of head 63, in position where the scoop 73 of head 63 will propel the cuttings into the adjacent conveyor throat 58. The righthand chain 75 travels from head 66 toward head 63, cutting off the upper and lower cusps between heads 66 and 64 and also similar cusps between heads 64 and 63. The cuttings carried by the lower reach of said chain are deposited on the area immediately to the rear of head 63, where the scoop 73 of head 63 can propel the cuttings into conveyor throat 58. In the form shown herein, the direction of travel of chain 75 is opposite to the direction of travel of chain 74 so that the two streams of cuttings tend to meet each other in an area common to both, so that the chain 75 forms, in effect, an abutment means tending to crowd the cuttings deposited at the outbye end of cutter chain 74 into the path of the scoops 73 on the boring head 63. Thus, the cutter chain 75 serves the same function as the deflector plate 38 of Figure 1.

Although I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a boring type continuous miner having a frame; a plurality of transversely spaced boring heads mounted on said frame for cutting contiguous bores in advance of the machine, a conveyor on said frame having a forwardly opening throat behind said heads and adjacent the floor level for reception of dislodged material, a cutter chain having its lower reach guided for movement at floor level behind said boring heads to remove upstanding cusps left between the heads, said lower reach of the cutter chain terminating at its outbye end in the area within the cutting limits of its nearest boring head, abutment means on the frame disposed adjacent the outbye end of said lower reach of the cutter chain and also within the cutting limits of said boring head and scoop means on said cutter head rotatable with the latter in the direction to sweep the cuttings from said lower reach into loading position in front of said conveyor throat.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein the inbye end of the lower reach of the cutter chain is trained about a guide firojecting beyond the cutting limits of its nearest cutter ead.

3. In a boring type continuous miner, a frame, first and second boring heads mounted on said frame to cut contiguous bores in advance of the machine, a conveyor on said frame having a material-receiving throat disposed rearwardly of and between said heads, kerf cutting means movable in a path from the first to the second head at floor level immediately behind said boring heads, the path of said kerf cutting means terminating in a position to discharge cuttings into the area behind said second head, short of the side of the room cut by said second head, and scoop means carried by and rotatable with said second head at floor level in a direction opposite to the movement of said kerf cutting means, to transfer cuttings from said area into loading position in front of said conveyor throat, and abutment means disposed on the frame in the area at the end of the path of movement of said kerf cutting means to crowd cuttings forward into the path of movement of said scoop means.

4. The structure of claim 3, wherein the abutment means consists of a generally upright deflector plate.

5. The structure of claim 3, wherein said kerf cutting means extends at its inbye end outside of the cutting limits of the first boring head at floor level, and the abutment means consists of auxiliary kerf cutting means mounted on the frame and extending into cutting position outside the cutting limits of the second boring head at floor lever.

6. In a boring type continuous miner having a frame, at least two transversely spaced boring heads mounted on said frame for cutting contiguous bores in advance of the machine, a conveyor having a throat behind and between two adjacent heads for reception of dislodged material, an orbitally movable cutter chain having its lower reach guided for movement at floor level behind said boring heads to remove cusps produced between adjacent heads, a guide member about which the outbye end of said lower reach is trained, disposed within the cutting limits of one of said heads, scoop means on said last named head adapted to sweep cuttings from the outbye end of the lower reach into loading position in front of said conveyor throat, and a second guide member extending beyond the cutting limits of said last-named head about which guide member a cutter chain is guided at floor level.

7. In a boring type continuous miner having a frame, two pairs of transversely spaced boring heads mounted on said frame to cut contiguous bores in advance of the machine, a conveyor having a throat behind and between each of said pairs of heads for reception of dislodged material, a cutter chain guide bar extending transversely of the machine at floor level behind said boring heads to define the floor level, said cutter chain guide being interrupted intermediate its ends to define separate cutter chain guiding portions having their adjacent ends terminating within the cutting limits of an intermediate cutter head, two orbitally movable cutter chains each having their lower reaches trained along one of the guiding portions of said cutter chain guide bar, with their adjacent outbye ends movable toward each other, so as to deflect cuttings from both lower reaches forwardly of said frame a scoop carried by the intermediate head toward which the two lower reaches move and acting to sweep the cuttings toward one of said conveyor throats from the area between the outbye ends of said lower reaches.

References Cited in the file of this patent Coal Age, May 13, 1926, pages 667-670. 

